Adjustable beds are often used in home health care. A bariatric bed is one capable of supporting the weight of a larger patient, and thus is typically larger and heavier than a standard home health care bed.
Home health care beds typically include two vertically adjustable bed ends that support a mattress platform extending between them. The mattress platform is made in two pieces, i.e., a head end section and a foot end section. The head end section has an adjustable portion that can be raised up when the bed is assembled, to raise the patient's head. The foot end section has an adjustable portion that can be raised up when the bed is assembled, to raise the patient's knees. The adjustable portions are operated by one or more electric motors located underneath the platform.
The head end section and the foot end section of the platform are assembled by standing them on edge, at an angle to each other. They are then moved into engagement with each other and joined, still at an angle, with a pin and slot arrangement. The two sections are pivoted relative to each other, while still on edge, into an orientation aligned with each other, to form the platform. The assembled platform may then be laid flat on the floor and the bed ends connected with it.
This assembly process takes up a significant amount of space in the room in which the bed is to be used—specifically, significantly more room than the finished size of the bed. In addition, the two sections are quite heavy—in the range of from 75 pounds to over 100 pounds each—and as a result, the on-edge assembly process requires two persons.